The aims of the proposed project are to increase the entrance, retention, and graduation of underrepresented undergraduates majoring in biology and molecular biology through associate and baccalaureate courses of study. These aims will be achieved through an active and continuous collaboration between Essex County College (ECC), NJ, which offers the Associate's Degree, and Montclair State University (MSU), NJ, which offers Baccalaureate and Master's Degrees. Our objectives will be accomplished through: (1) early identification and recruitment of talented students in biological or chemical sciences at ECC; (2) expansion of ECC student interest and understanding through interaction with research faculty and students from MSU. This will occur through joint-institutional collaborative research during the first two years at ECC and second two years at MSU and also through reciprocal faculty seminar presentations at both institutions; (3) A research-oriented curriculum at both ECC and MSU to foster interest in and prepare students for graduate and professional opportunities in the biomedical sciences; (4) Preparation for baccalaureate studies through a joint ECC-MSU curriculum that hones communication and analytical skills and scientific reasoning; (5) A collaborative mentoring relationship between faculty and students from both institutions to facilitate the transition from a community college setting to a university academic environment; (6) Articulated admission of these well-prepared ECC students into the baccalaureate program at MSU; (7) Development of a specific articulation agreement between the Division of Biology and Chemistry at ECC and the Department of Biology and Molecular Biology at MSU. The central mechanism of the proposed program will be to recruit and prepare talented A.S.-track students at ECC for subsequent entrance and success in the B.S. program at MSU. This mechanism would also potentially facilitate a seamless transition from A.S. to B.S. to M.S. and/or Ph.D. because MSU presently has in place a number of articulation agreements with regional medical and graduate schools, and has held a Bridges to the Ph.D. program with the Newark division of University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) Graduate School Hence we have entitled the present project "Bridging the Associate, Baccalaureate, and Beyond" (BABB). The BABB program will consist of associate-level work and undergraduate research the experiences for the first two undergraduate years at ECC followed by curriculum in the third and fourth years at MSU specifically designed to foster a comprehensive and realistic peer research community experience.